3 Sisters Garden

June 16:

When we got up this morning, we checked WeatherUnderground and noted Rain was on its way at 20 to 30 minutes out.  This day was a "Fruit Day" and I wanted to complete the 3 Sisters Gardens.  So Richard and I headed to that part of the Garden with Hoe and Seeds in hands.  Meanwhile, the eastern Sky was bright with the memory of Morning Sun, but the western Skies and those overhead were dark and swiftly moving to blot out the Sun in the Sky.

What is a 3 Sisters Garden?  Native Peoples of this Continent would often interplant 3 mutually beneficial Food Crops: Corn, Beans and Squash.  The Corn and Squash are heavy feeders, while the Beans put nitrogen back into the Soil.  The Corn grows tall and the Pole Beans wind their way up.  Meanwhile, Squashes push out large leaves, covering the ground and suppressing weeds. 

On this day, Richard weeded and I planted.   The Corn and Squash were up after being planted May 30.  All I needed to do was to add Pole Beans.  The 1st few years I have tried this, the Beans have pulled the Corn over.  I just learned last year that the Gardener should wait until the Corn is about 6-8 inches high.  In so doing, the Corn gets a jump start and can grow tall and strong, when the Beans are just beginning to emerge. 

I have one Garden dedicated toward honoring the 3 Gardening Tribes that were and are up on the Northern Plains, an area where we lived for 32 years.  The Gardening Tribes are the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara (Sahnish).  I have had several students and friends who were from those Nations and were my teachers.  The last year that I taught, my Environmental Studies students and I went on a field trip to Ft. Berthold Reservation which is now the home for the Tribes; that field trip focused on the people, culture, history and gardening practices. 

My little Garden is a prayer that we may learn from the 1st Peoples and the North American Continent.  It seems to me that for much of the history of the European peoples on this Continent, we visitors have been trying to do a kind of "makeover", yielding disastrous results.  It's time that we settled on this land.  For one, I want to settle here and know my place on it. I want to live with the rhythms of this place, rather than against them.

As I look at this part of the Garden, the following varieties smile up at me:  Hidatsa Shield Figure Beans (newly planted on this day), Mandan Bride Indian Corn, Mandan Squash.  I also included Arikara Sunflowers which will provide good height for the Beans to grow as well, assuming all goes well.

I have 4 other beds of 3 Sisters Gardens. They include different varieties which are exciting to watch grow.

I should further note that I use Native American Varieties which I have received from a number of sources including Seed Savers Exchange, Seeds of Change, Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, plus, this year, my friend Blanche.  When I plant these Heirloom Varieties, I honor Indigenous Peoples and I actively seek to live as Indigenous to this place.  And I choose to continue the long heritage of Gardeners in the choice of Heirloom Varieties.